Ichiro will go into the Hall of Fame as professional baseball’s all-time leader in hits with 4,367 (3,089 in MLB and 1,278 in Japan) — more even than Pete Rose's 4,256. He broke George Sisler’s single-season hits mark of 257 in 2004. The new mark is 262.

Derek Jeter, Sadaharu Oh and Hideki Matsui were among many to offer their praises Tuesday after former Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki became the first Asian player elected to the U.S. National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Ichiro Suzuki is all about baseball, but he’s much more than that in Japan. Back home, he’s a wellspring of national pride, much like Shohei Ohtani now. His triumphs across the Pacific buoyed the nation as Japan’s economy sputtered through the so-called lost decades of the 1990s and into the 2000s.

Hideki Matsui, Yu Darvish and others in MLB helped him make his decision, Morii responded in English: "Yes, of course." Matsui, a three-time MVP of Japan's Central League, played for Oakland in 2011.

Hideki Matsui, Yu Darvish and others in MLB helped him make his decision, Morii responded in English: “Yes, of course." Matsui, a three-time MVP of Japan's Central League, played for Oakland in ...

The Roki Sasaki sweepstakes has reached its final stage, and the Yankees don’t even have a spot on the podium.

Hoping to become a two-way player in MLB just like Shohei Ohtani, 18-year-old Shotaro Morii made the rare decision to bypass Japanese professional baseball entirely and agreed Wednesday to a minor league contract with the Athletics.

Hoping to become a two-way player in Major League Baseball just like Shohei Ohtani, 18-year-old Shotaro Morii made the rare decision to bypass Japanese professional baseball entirely and agreed Wednesday to a minor league contract with the Athletics that includes a signing bonus of $1,510,500.